Dare Box
by Magpies and Pie
Summary: "Ginoza-san has been looking more stressed lately. Do you think it has anything to do with the dares?"
1. Dares, Dinner and Dartboards

"Ginoza-san has been looking more stressed lately."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"Hmm."

"Do you think it has anything to do with the dares?"

* * *

It all happened after Kagari's newest collection of games came through the post. He got a few new Gundamn figures, a new dart board (Kou-chan had somehow broke a hole through the last one), a lava lamp, a remote-controlled car and-

-a Dare Box.

Out of curiosity, he tapped one of the cube's faces and a dare flashed onto its surface. He grinned at its message and tapped it again to see another. He tapped quite a few times and laughed his way through the mentioned dares. He had to share it with someone.

Of course, there was a very limited number of people he could play it with though. Even then, it had to be one of his work colleagues since there was nowhere else he'd be able to freely perform and watch dares.

So that brought down his list of faces to the MWPSB.

There was no way Gino would want to even look at the Dare Box. He'd be all 'it'll get in the way of work' and 'fun is for losers,' so Kagari decided to leave him out. He had a suspicion Kou-chan would act similarly since he was just as obsessed with solving cases.

Masaoka-san was a cool old dude, but Kagari's gut feeling told him that he'd be politely turned down.

There was no way in hell he'd be asking Karanomori Shion.

So by process of elimination, his only players were Akane-chan and Kunidzuka.

* * *

"It's childish," Yayoi commented. "And besides, Inspector Ginoza would disapprove."

Akane looked a little unsure herself too.

Pouting, Kagari waved the Dare Box in front of them. "Then all we have to do is make sure no one knows we're playing, right?" He paused, and came up with a bright idea. "And there's a point system in the game. First person to hit 30 points I swear I'll treat you to dinner. Wherever you want."

Suddenly, Akane felt sympathetic for the young Enforcer, he was probably bored all the time from being stuck doing work and never having the freedom of just going outside and having fun like all guys his age.

"I'll play, Kagari," she agreed.

A huge grin lit up on his face.

"I knew you were the best, Akane-chan!" he sang before facing Yayoi expectantly. "Well, what about you? Dinner is the prize!"

A few tense seconds went by before Yayoi casually shrugged her shoulders and picked up her guitar magazine.

"Fine, I'll play. You better start saving up for when I win."

* * *

**And so it begins. Not sure how long I'll be continuing this one, but so far it seems like a fun idea to play with.**

**I'm going to be using a bunch of office dares but if you guys can think of any hilarious (but reasonable) dares for our trio to perform. Then please share in a review!**

**Ginoza's going to be tripping so bad.**

_**Pie.**_


	2. Juice, Emails and Tights

Before Akane picked up the Dare Box, Kagari had pushed himself between her and the cube with a wide smile.

"Glad to see you're eager, Akane-chan, but we need to go over some of the important rules," he announced.

He earned frowns from both of the female players.

"Firstly, and the most obvious rule: don't tell anyone we're playing this game," Kagari began, counting the points off his fingers. "Second rule: another player must always be in sight to witness your dare, unless it wouldn't count. The final rule: be funny."

"The third rule doesn't seem very well explained," Akane muttered.

"What's the point of playing a game when you're not being funny?" Kagari retorted. "Anyway, let's do this. Inspector, here y'go."

Akane felt the Dare Box being pushed into her hands. She fumbled to press the correct face to display her first dare. Kagari excitedly hovered over her shoulder to read what it would be.

_In a colleague's work schedule, write in the 10am slot: see how I look in tights. 5 points.  
5 extra points if it is a male  
5 more if he is your boss_

"Whaat. You're already getting a head start!" Kagari exasperated. "No fair!"

Akane frowned a little. "Isn't everyone's computer password locked though? I don't see how I'll be able to access anyone's work schedule without hacking."

She was responded with a shrug of the shoulders.

"You're an Inspector, aren't you? Though I can't say for Gino-san, you have access to go through Kou-chan's computer for the bonus 5 points," he suggested with a sly smile. "No wait, why am I helping a rival! Let me get my dare, Akane-chan."

The cube was passed over in his waiting hands, and he quickly jabbed its surface so it will flash its new dare.

_Send e-mails to your colleagues of what you are doing all day. 3 points._

A toothy grin stretched across Kagari's face.

"This is cake," he exclaimed and tossed the Dare Box back onto his desk. He peered over at Yayoi who had began to shuffle through some new files on her desk. "Hey, you haven't had your dare yet, right?"

The cube was tossed towards her and she caught it without looking up from her paperwork. She thumbed over the surface and read out loud the new message.

_Include the word 'juice' in every sentence. 1 point._

"Looks like you got a warm-up dare," Kagari chuckled. "Isn't today the deadline for that Case 39 report? Can't wait to see how you manage in front of Gino-san!"

Yayoi said nothing and continued looking through the files.

* * *

As Akane sat down and began her own work, she started to wonder who she should sent her message to. Fortunately, the non-player male colleagues were likely to pass it as a joke and never bring it up again. That still didn't make it any less awkward. She sat there with her head in her hands for a few seconds and finally made a decision.

"I guess I'll use _his_."

With a sigh, she used her Inspector Pass to log into the Enforcer's system and opened up his day planner. She hastily typed in _see 'how I look in tights'_ in his 10am slot and quickly closed the screen. Still, she wondered if it would be considered cheating if she left the office when he logs into his computer.

As if reading her mind, Kagari swiveled around on his chair to face her direction.

"I hope you're not going to be a spoil-sport, Akane-chan," he tutted.

"I wasn't-"

"I'm a latent criminal remember? I'm supposed to know how to be sly," he reminded her. "Don't disappoint me, Inspector!"

Akane decided that Kagari was having too much fun.

* * *

_Yo! This is Hound 4. If anyone wants me, I'll be in the bathroom. It isn't a Number 2 so don't hesitate to find me._

* * *

Ginoza frowned at the email and deleted it before second thought. Kagari was probably just being bored today. The Inspector returned to skimming through the report he was handed in but was already circling certain paragraphs with a red pen.

He glanced up from his table. "Kunidzuka, I believe you made an error in your report," he called out to her. "You muddled up some of the districts labelled here."

He held out the report, expecting it to be taken back and corrected straight away.

"I'll fix it after I buy some juice," she stated. She was already halfway through breaking a code in a separate hacker case which she was hoping to get out of the way by lunch hour.

"I'd much rather you fix it now."

"Juice first."

Ginoza raised an eyebrow. "You're not even getting up to buy it."

"I'll buy the juice later."

"Kunidzuka, just finish the report."

"I'll need my juice though."

"Why do you keep talking about juice?"

She tore her eyes away from her monitor and fixed a blank stare at him. "Do you have anything against juice?"

"No, I don't. You just seem a little off today," Ginoza replied briskly.

"We are not talking about me, we are talking about juice. Why are you against me saying the word 'juice?' Has 'juice' been tabooed?"

"It's not. I'm just-"

"Then leave my juice out of it."

"I have nothing against juice!"

"Whatever you say, juice-hater."

Ginoza was in loss of words.

Abruptly, a new email flooded the screen of his computer.

* * *

_Hound 4 here again! If you guys haven't noticed I've just got back from the bathroom. It was a Number 2 after all._

* * *

Ginoza deleted the email and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wearily glanced towards Kagari's desk where the orange-haired culprit was innocently playing on his game console. Ginoza usually tried to not get involved with the Enforcers during their break time since they all needed time-out from each other but the idiot was getting involved in his (I mean, everyone's) work.

"Inspector Tsunemori," he abruptly said. "I have the folder you wanted. Please take what you want from it."

With a nod, she heaved a heavy folder from Ginoza's desk and started sifting through it. She found it uncomfortable doing it whilst on her chair because of her height, so she ended up standing whilst leafing through the pages.

About then, Kougami and Masaoka finally arrived.

A few morning greetings went round before the two sat down and logged into their own computers.

* * *

_Hound 4 calling in. I definitely saw Kou-chan checking out Akane-chan._

* * *

Ginoza rolled his eyes and left the office to get some fresh air. It was only 10am and he felt tired.

Kagari watched him leave with a huge, toothy grin. He was, as Akane would put it, having too much fun. Seeing now his morning shift had finally began, he finally opened up his schedule for the day, which made the grin slowly fall.

His 10am slot had '_see me in tights'_ typed into it.

'Sheesh, Akane-chan. That's just boring,' he thought.

Then he paused.

"Wait, what? Then why did Kou-chan..."

Said Enforcer was typing away like it was no one's business. There wasn't even a pause when Kagari had sent round the emails.

* * *

_This is Hound 4! I'm being serious! Kou-chan was checking out Akane-chan! Kunidzuka, you'd vouch, right? Oh man this is such a cheap drama._

* * *

Everyone was able to hear Shion laughing from the Analysis Department.

Yayoi swatted Kagari on the head with her rolled-up report.

Kougami's furious typing didn't skip a beat.

* * *

_Hound 4 reporting abuse. Gino-san, even you gotta admit Kunidzuka hits me way to often._

* * *

_Aaand Hound 4 is back! I'm eating lunch with Akane-chan. Bet all of you are jealous!_

* * *

_Hound 4 reporting abuse again! Kunidzuka upgraded to using my dart board! It's brand new as well! Tomorrow, she'll be using a chair for sure._

* * *

_Hey guys, Hound 4 leaving for a bit. I have to do some field work with Gino-san. He sure isn't looking too happy._

* * *

_Scratch that. He's looking really bad now. Maybe the apple juice I gave him was too sour._

* * *

_Seriously, something is up with Gino-san._

* * *

_Kagari. Shut up._

_-Ginoza_

* * *

_By the way, Kagari-juice. I was sure Kougami was staring at Inspector Ginoza, not Tsunemori-juice._

_-Kunidzuka-juice_

* * *

Kunidzuka Yayoi- 1 point

Shuusei Kagari- 3 points

Tsunemori Akane- 10 points

* * *

**What have I done. You can all shoot me now. **

**(I've been actually staring at this chapter for a couple of days and decided 'screw this, let's upload')**

**And thank-you for all the reviews! I will be replying to them, I promise. ****Another thank-you to AppleStrudel47 for coming up with the juice dare. More suggested dares will feature soon. (If there is a soon)**

**_Pie._  
**


	3. Dates, Plants and Singing

"I'm adding a fourth rule!" Kagari proclaimed, raising a hand into the air. "Dares must only be targeted at non-players!"

Akane felt herself smile sheepishly.

"Oh, it was because of yesterday, right?" she observed.

"That was a low blow, Akane-chan," he commented. "You were on the tip of violating rule three as well. Kunidzuka pulled that one off surprisingly well."

"Surprisingly?" Yayoi echoed.

Kagari didn't bother elaborating and picked up the Dare Box for his new mission of the day.

_Move every single one of your boss' plants to random places around the room. 1 point.  
_

At that, Akane frowned.

"How did the Dare Box know Inspector Ginoza grew plants?" she inquired.

Kagari shrugged. "Maybe it's a stereotype. The big, mysterious, boss-man always having a potted plant in his office or something."

"I thought it was a cat."

"Close enough."

Akane was handed the cube next.

_The first person who bids you good morning you must ask out on a date. 5 points._

"Why do you keep getting the big hitters?" Kagari exasperated. "Geez, this box plays favourites!"

Kunidzuka glanced up from her work. "Inspector Ginoza'll arrive any moment now, so you'll probably be asking him out. Don't worry though, he'll turn you down for sure."

"I'm not sure whether I should feel offended or not," Akane deadpanned.

Kagari snatched the cube out of her hands and excitedly threw it at the final player's direction.

_Sing happy birthday to boss. 1 point.  
__3 extra points if you get someone to join in with you._

There was a long silence.

"Looks like Gino-san is going to be popular today," Kagari remarked.

Just on cue, did the Inspector in subject finally step into the office with Masaoka following ensuite. They glanced at their three younger workmates who were huddled together as if watching something in the middle.

Ginoza regarded it with a slight crease in his brow. "What are you three doing?"

Kagari, Yayoi and Akane jerked back abruptly and made their way back to their desks with mumbles of 'good morning' left behind. Though Ginoza was slightly irked his question was ignored, Masaoka had brushed past with a casual smile.

"Morning, youngsters," he greeted.

Akane blinked at him.

"Oh, um, good morning, Masaoka-san."

* * *

The early part of the morning was transposing rather well. Ginoza was feeling in a rather good mood as well since the coffee he bought today tasted great. What he didn't know was the voiceless argument which had broken out between a particular trio.

* * *

_Akane-chan. Masaoka-san said good morning to you. So go!_

_-Kagari_

* * *

_Does that really count? He didn't specify it to anyone in particular..._

_-Tsunemori_

* * *

_It doesn't matter anyway. Inspector Ginoza hasn't bothered to greet you. Karanomori is working downstairs. I don't think Kougami's shift starts until midday. Masaoka-san is the closest call to your dare._

_-Kunidzuka_

* * *

_Kunidzuka, when did you start becoming so much fun?_

_-Kagari_

* * *

_Shut up, Kagari._

_-Kunidzuka_

* * *

Resisting the urge to sigh, Akane pushed herself off the chair and slowly progressed her way towards Masaoka, who was logging onto his computer.

"Ma-Masaoka-san," Akane spluttered. "Can I -um- ask you something?"

Masaoka simply gave her a kind smile. "Of course, go ahead."

He waited patiently whilst Akane stood there in silence. She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, assuring herself it was just a joke and Masaoka-san was going to just laugh it off. Kagari might try tease her about it but that was nothing new. Nothing awkward was going to happen.

Besides the fact Inspector Ginoza was pretending to be ignoring them from his workstation and Kagari was holding back a snigger.

Determined to succeed her dare properly this time, Akane graciously bowed her head towards her senior.

"Will you go on a date with me?" she asked without a stumble.

Ginoza choked on his coffee, feeling half of it burning down the wrong part of his throat and the other half splattering against his lap. Whilst he violently hacked out his lungs, Kunidzuka calmly approached him and began patting his back.

Equally calm, Masaoka turned to face Akane a little more directly.

"Ojou-chan, I think I'm a bit old to date you, not to mention it's rather unprofessional," he said gently, the smile unwavering on his face. "I thank-you for the offer though."

"I understand."

Ginoza continued to choke so intensely, Yayoi thought he was going to start foaming at the mouth.

"I'm sure a younger man your age will suit you better. You're a charming lady, so it won't be hard catching one of them."

"You praise me too much, Masaoka-san."

Their off-hand conversation was making it hard for Ginoza to breathe. Yayoi tried to remember the last time she had to resuscitate someone.

"Well then, I better start this paper."

"I better fix my draft report."

They both went back to work as if nothing happened.

Ginoza coughed hoarsely for a few times before finally being able to breathe normally again. Kunidzuka wordlessly stepped away and back to her workstation without a single change in facial expression. The sound of typing and shuffling of papers was being drowned out by the tense atmosphere.

Then at last, Kagari threw his head back and began cackling.

* * *

After an awkwardly quiet hour; Ginoza left for the Analysis Department to discuss a case with Shion, everyone else went to get coffee, leaving Kagari to his own devices in the office.

There were two potted plants located on Ginoza's desk, one was a funky looking cactus and the other looked like a rip-off money plant. Kagari picked up one of the pots and surveyed the room for a hiding place. He decided to leave one on top of a bookshelf, and wedged another one between two books.

The moment he sat back down, Akane returned with three cups of coffee hugged to her chest. She instantly noticed the missing plants.

"Ginoza-san reacted more dramatically than I thought," she puzzled.

She placed one of the cups on Kagari's desk which he took into his palms without thanking her.

"Ah, well, you know, he and Masaoka-san have a tricky relationship," he quipped. "But really, does nothing faze the old dude out? Sure I wasn't expecting him to go into shock or anything, but it's not like anyone would've seen it coming."

"I guess Ginoza-san's reaction made up for it then," Akane concluded.

"My what?"

Akane turned round sharply to see the older Inspector back wearing a weary mask.

Before she said anything, Kagari dangled his own coffee cup in the air. "Akane-chan's giving out fuel for us. She forgot you had some this morning, but you still look like you need one anyway."

"Oh, thank-you," Ginoza noted and accepted the cup. "And also, Inspector Tsunemori..."

He muted himself before he finished the sentence.

Akane stood there with unblinking eyes, expecting him to pick it up again.

Whilst Ginoza maintained a cool facade, inside he was actually wracking nerves. Should he really ask? Or was it nothing serious? They both sorted out the issue quickly so was there any reason for Ginoza to pursue further? But it just biting Ginoza to why Inspector Tsunemori would ask out his _dad_. Maybe she was simply being nice and wanted to thank him for always showing her the ropes around the job. Ginoza noticed Masaoka was always offering advice to the rookie Inspector. Maybe she was talking about a 'father-daughter' kind of date, not _that _kind of date. Oh god a headache was coming. Though Tsunemori Akane did thoughtless things time to time, Ginoza thought she had common sense. Masaoka was everything against common sense; being probably older than her own father, a latent criminal, and technically her underling. So Ginoza wanted to know why. Just WHY. It shouldn't be bothering him since she is only a colleague of the same status and he had nothing to do with Masaoka anymore. BUT STILL...

"Are you alright, Ginoza-san?" Akane asked.

No reaction.

Kagari squinted at the frozen Inspector. "Gino-san, Akane-chan just asked you a question. Gino-san, can you hear us? Hey, _Gino-san_!"

Grey eyes blinked dumbly.

"Oh, um, nevermind," Ginoza muttered hastily and marched past them.

Akane began to a nugget of worry creep up her heart. "Kagari, maybe hiding Ginoza-san's plants was not good timing for him today."

"He'll be _fine_. He's our Gino afterall."

* * *

By some miracle, Kagari had ended his work for today without much mischief- or any mischief he was aware of. Kunidzuka was acting less odd than yesterday, also had disappeared for an extra break which he was fine with. On the other hand, the whole Inspector Tsunemori business was giving him something new to have a headache.

It was time for some therapeutic watering for his plants.

Only to find both of his plants were missing. Mizuchi and Tou- no, he hadn't named them. He's not a child.

With a water spray in hand, Ginoza began scanning the office for the two little plants, but everyone's desks were cluttered with all sorts of junk and paperwork that he knew it was going to be easily missed. Grumbling to himself, Ginoza got onto the floor and made sure none of the plants had fallen over/were tipped over and hidden away.

"What are you doing, Gino?" Kougami asked flatly, craning his neck over the desk.

"Nothing."

"What are you looking for?"

"I said it's nothing."

The Enforcer paused. "Where are your plants?"

"Mind your own business, Kougami."

"You could just ask if anyone has seen them."_  
_

"Have _you_ seen them?"

"No."

"Asking people is so useful."

Feeling partially guilty for the missing plants; Akane briskly gathered a stack of folders to carry into the filing room where she'd feel less flustered with the entire ordeal. Masaoka raised his head from his work and watched her heave past.

"Need a hand, ojou-chan?" he asked.

"That would be greatly appreciated."

They both disappeared into the filing room, oblivious to Ginoza's frozen mask of horror. Kougami, however, did notice. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for some explanation to the apparent anxiety written across said colleague's face.

"Say, Kougami," Ginoza said hesitantly. "About Inspector Tsunemori..."

"What about her?"

Ginoza rubbed his temples. "Does... Inspector Tsunemori get along with Masaoka?"

Kougami looked nonchalant.

"He's always mentoring her at field work," he briefed. "I'm no good at talking so whenever it's needed, the old man will speak with her; whether it's specifically work-related or to reassure her about something. They get along fine, why ask?"

Ginoza tapped a finger nervously on his desk.

"It's nothing."

"You usually aren't the type to ask about others, so something_ is_ up."

The response started with a long, deep sigh. "It's just been a long day, that's all."

"Rare for you to complain about workload as well," Kougami pointed out. "Has something happened today?"

"Nothing for you to stick your nose in," came the snappy reply. There was more Ginoza wanted to say but the two in the filing room finally returned, empty handed and ready to continue with whatever work was left.

The conversation thus staled.

Until Yayoi entered the office and advanced towards her boss' desk.

"Inspector," Yayoi directed to Ginoza.

"What now?"

"There's something important I must tell you," she informed smoothly. "It'll take just a minute."

Ginoza put aside his worries for the moment. "Make it quick."

She cleared her throat and sank into silence for a few seconds. Her eyes then snapped up to meet his and she straightened her back a little as if bracing for impact.

"Happy Birthday to you," she sang. "Happy Birthday to you."

Ginoza couldn't even bring himself to twitch.

Yayoi elbowed a blank-faced Kougami who was hoping not to be in any part of the scene.

"Join in," she whispered loudly.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"It's not even his bir-"

"Just do it."

There was a slight pause.

"Happy Birthday to Ginoza," Yayoi went on singing, with Kougami only just managing to add an unsure 'Gino.' "Happy Birthday to you."

Silence crashed onto them in rolling waves, each wave making Ginoza's headache worse and worse.

He missed his plants already.

* * *

Kunidzuka Yayoi- 5 points

Shuusei Kagari- 4 points

Tsunemori Akane- 15 points

* * *

**So to conclude:**

**Dares brings friends together. Kagari is mean. **** Ginoza's plants are missing. **Ginoza is taking everything way too seriously. Akane isn't helping. Masaoka is being totally chill bro. Yayoi can sing in perfect key. Kougami can't. Kougami has no idea what in the name of pancakes is going on.

**Speaking of whom, I think I'll make him more active next chapter lol probably focus a dare on him or something.**

**Thank-you exile-wrath for the plant dare!**

**I'm still behind with replying to everyone's reviews aggh bare with me**

**_Pie._  
**


	4. Coffee, Skirts and Danger

_Drink up all of your colleague's coffee. 1 point.  
_

Kagari displayed a toothy grin. "And remember Akane-chan, you can't take mine or Kunidzuka's coffee! Has to be a non-player!"

His reminder almost made Akane pout, though it was to be expected he was not letting go of the fact she tried to 'cheat' on their first game together. She passed over the Dare Box with a sigh.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure," she promised.

_Crossdress. 3 points._

In the corner of her eye, Akane noticed his face marring into a deep frown.

"Afraid of your dare, Kagari?" she teased with a slight smile.

She was responded with a raised eyebrow. "Me, afraid? You underestimate my loyalty to game rules, Akane-chan," he retorted. "It's just that, it's not like I can find a spare dress or anything to change around here. This is the Criminal Investigation Division, not a shopping centre."

Akane's smile thinned out. "Oh, I see your point... well, I have some make-up, would that do instead?"

Before Kagari could reply, Yayoi snapped her head up, cutting in between the two.

"Inspector," she pointed out. "Aren't you wearing a skirt?"

Three pairs of eyes immediately lowered to Akane's modest black skirt and tights. There was a pause, where all pairs of eyes were trying to guess if Kagari could fit into the clothes in subject.

"Where we gonna get changed? There are cameras even in the filing room," he muttered.

"Bathrooms, idiot," Yayoi clipped in.

"Hey, you forgot Akane-chan's a girl and I'm a guy!"

"Then go join her in the girls bathroom."

"Won't I get beaten up if any of the ladies catch me?"

"Convince them you're a lady as well," Yayoi chided and snatched the Dare Box from Kagari's hands.

She thumbed over its surface and the new dare flashed on screen.

_Shout out "Danger!" and tackle-hug someone. 5 points._

Kagari read the message out loud and sniggered. "Aw, man. Considering Kou-chan is built like a brick wall and Masaoka-san has judo-reflexes looks like you're gonna end up tackling Gino-san!"

Whilst he laughed away at his imagination, Akane noticed the slight change in Yayoi's facial expression. She usually kept a consistent neutral mask, but the Inspector had noticed time-to-time the mask softens in sympathy or stiffens during field work. At the present time, Yayoi's mask had none of the three mentioned attributes- but a slight greyish tinge instead.

If Akane was to make a very crude guess, she would've thought that Yayoi was actually horrified at the idea of tackle-hugging her boss.

"Erm, are you okay, Kunidzuka-sa-?"

"Good morning!" A familiar woman bounced into the office with barely all of her shirt buttoned up, showing off the hem of her bra, her blond hair arranged perfectly around her face and a stack of papers being waved proudly in her manicured hand. "Guess which genius finished her casework _one day early_? I can't wait to see the look on the Inspector's face when I show hi-"

"Danger!" Yayoi interrupted.

She threw herself onto a unsuspecting Shion and dragged her into the filing room, slamming the door shut behind them.

There was a pause. And then there was some scuffling and muffled voices.

"Would that be considered a tackle-hug?" Akane abruptly asked.

Kagari wasn't sure whether he should be aghast or amazed. He patted the young Inspector on the shoulder and began steering her out of the office. "Seriously, I said there were _cameras_ in the filing room and still... never mind, let's go switch clothes, Akane-chan."

"But what about Kuni-"

"Trust me, she's done the dare."

* * *

There was nothing wrong about being early to work, in fact, Ginoza thought that being a little early showed good commitment towards the job. On the other hand, he felt it was highly suspicious that Inspector Tsunemori and the two younger Enforcers were always huddled together a good ten minutes before their morning shift. He had quickly noticed that it occurred near the same time all three of them began acting strangely.

He stepped into the office with the same trio looking up to bid him good morning. Saying this, they were actually sitting at their own designated work stations instead of being close together- he hoped it meant the entire fiasco was finally over. He wanted to push this out of his memory.

But when his eyes met Akane's, it was as if a cold bucket of water was thrown over his head.

"Morning, Inspector Ginoza. Oh, you look a bit pale," she noted. "Did you not sleep well last night?"

How on earth was he meant to sleep well when there was a possibility his _junior_ like his _dad_? No matter what he did, he couldn't escape the nagging feeling crawling up his spine. He stiffly marched past her trying to beat out the nightmare which plagued him for the past five hours.

He was broken out from his thoughts when someone slapped him on the shoulder.

"-ino. Gino! Are you listening?"

"What?"

"I've called your name out five times, are you still just half-awake?" Kougami asked, setting a stack of files and a cup of coffee on his workstation.

"Mind your own business. What do you want anyway?"

A thumb was jerked over his shoulder. "A private word."

The Inspector followed out his former partner out of the office. The moment the door slid shut, Kagari spun round on his chair and pointed frantically at Akane.

"Quick! The coffee!" he ordered.

It took Akane three seconds to figure out what he was trying to say. She snatched Kougami's half-drunken coffee cup and sipped it. It tasted horrible. Then again, she always had hers with plenty of milk and sugar- some cream as well with chocolate powder, if it was available. She gagged and set it back on her colleague's desk with a grimace.

Her witness however, was not satisfied.

"You're meant to drink _all _of it!" he insisted.

"It tastes horrible!" she spluttered.

"Your dare said to 'drink up _all _of your colleague's coffee!'" Kagari recited, his eyes keeping flitting towards the door and back to Akane. "Come on Inspector, besides, Kou-chan's probably drank half of it for you already."

Akane squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed up the rest of the bitter drink. It was more lukewarm than hot so she didn't have to worry about it burning her throat, but still- it tasted horrible.

"Go, Akane-chan! Go, Akane-chan!" he chanted whilst fist-pumping at every gulp. "I think you have five seconds left before Kou-chan gets back. Go, Akane-chan!"

Yayoi ignored both of them.

The cup was emptied and Akane slammed it back on the desk, retreating to her own work station, shuddering and choking.

Kougami returned just as she began rinsing her mouth with some water. He collapsed back into his own chair and brought his cup to his lips, only to pull it away again to stare at its empty contents.

None of his younger colleagues looked up from their screens.

Kougami crushed the cup in his hand.

* * *

Fortunately for Gino, his day was going rather smoothly. Asides from the fact he had been unsuccessful in recovering his plants, his work was going well, Shion had handed her analysis report a day before the deadline so he was in fact, ahead of schedule.

Kougami had asked if he could have his monthly health checkup early since he too had finished up most of his case reports, so he was out of the office, which also meant less cigarette smoke wafting in the air.

It was a good morning.

Then his blood froze.

Akane and Masaoka were pulling on their coats whilst leaving the office together.

"Wait, where are you two going?" he demanded.

"Fieldwork. It isn't much, just a latent criminal spotted at a small coffee shop," Masaoka replied casually.

"It's a good coffee shop as well. I've been there before," Akane added lightly. "We should have a cup after we finish, Masaoka-san. I'll treat you."

Ginoza's eyes widened at her offer. Sirens were shrieking inside his head so loudly he almost thought it was coming from the fire alarm next to him. _Don't take the bait, Masaoka. Don't take the bait. Don't take the bait!_ was being repeated like a mantra over the red alert.

"I'd love to."

The sirens exploded. His brain was on fire, sending off a rapid, glowing reel of last night's nightmares.

"_No!_"

The two in front of him almost took a step back in surprise at his outburst.

"No?" Akane echoed in confusion.

"Masaoka has a lot of work to do," Ginoza babbled. "Go with Kougami instead."

"But Kougami-san has just gone for his health checkup..." the younger Inspector countered.

"Then go with Kagari."

On cue; Kagari shot up from his seat and performed a mock salute. "Sir!"

It was only then did Ginoza realize that the bottom half of Enforcer Kagari was different from usual.

"Kagari... why are you in a skirt?"

"Gi-Gino-san! Why are you looking at my legs?"

Ginoza pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kagari, sit down. Kunidzuka, up."

A rare frown creased Masaoka's face. "Hey Nobu, I'm not exactly sure what is going on, but if you think about it, wouldn't I make a better choice to go? Kou and I worked with ojou-chan longer than Kagari and Kunidzuka, so we're more used to eachother as a team."

"Besides, Kunidzuka-san has a lot of paperwork to do as well," Akane added. "We'll be fine, Ginoza-san- if that's what you're worrying about."

"You heard the ojou-chan. Let's be on our way."

"We'll only be going out for just an hour," Akane promised.

"You two aren't _going out_ anywhere!"

* * *

In the end, Ginoza grudgingly volunteered himself to go with Masaoka to complete their fieldwork, he however, declined the Enforcer's idea of spending a short break in the coffee shop afterwards. Akane thought she heard Kagari whisper to Yayoi about 'they're finally having some father-son time' or something similar.

She shook her head and went out for some _real _coffee. She moved through the maze of corridors before finding the vending machine serving hot beverages. A debit card was slotted in. A few numbers punched. The coffee brand and milk option was selected.

Just as Akane pulled out the hot drink from the machine, a shadow loomed over her.

She jerked her head up and saw Kougami standing very closely behind her.

"Erm, Kougami-sa-?"

Without a word he snatched her cup and began gulping it down. When only half of the drink was left, he placed the cup back in her hands and stalked off.

Akane blinked.

She had no idea Kougami could be so childishly protective of his coffee. It tasted _disgusting_.

* * *

At the end of the day; Kagari had less fun that he thought he'd whilst crossdressing. Kougami and Masaoka didn't even look twice, Gino was too busy fretting over his missing plants to give an over-reaction.

He and Akane slipped back into the women's bathroom to switch their skirt and trousers between cubicles.

"Kagari, when are you going to give back Ginoza-san's plants?" she asked.

"He'll find them _eventually_. If he's really desperate, he'll look it up in the office surveillance cameras."

"...that's not very nice."

"No one said I was nice." He paused. "Oh crap! We need to get out, Akane-chan! Cleaning lady will be here any minute!"

They threw themselves out of their cubicles and through the door. Kagari stumbled out first, still zipping up his trousers. Akane was following him closely behind, smoothing out her skirt, and her tights scrunched up in one hand.

"Oh."

The two of them froze. They slowly raised their eyes to meet the shocked face of a familiar blonde-haired analyst.

"_Oh_," she said again, but this time she dragged it out whilst waggling her eyebrows.

"Karanamori-san?" Akane addressed her innocently.

The analyst shoved her hands into her coat pockets and began strutting back the opposite direction of them. "Don't mind me!" she called over her shoulder. "I won't tell a soul!"

Whilst Kagari was hiding his face in his hands, Akane looked relieved.

"Isn't Karanamori-san nice?" she observed. "She's letting you off sneaking out of the woman's bathroom without any questions."

"If only."

* * *

Kunidzuka Yayoi- 10 points

Shuusei Kagari- 7 points

Tsunemori Akane- 16 points

* * *

**So, to summarize this entire event: ****Kagari feels awkward. ****Gino is panicking. ****Masaoka is still a chill bro. ****Kougami doesn't like people touching his coffee.**

**Don't worry, I'll stop with the whole Ginoza panicking over possible MasaAka very soon lol **

**Thanks so much to Kuugen for influencing the stealing coffee idea and ****from the sev'nth of**** march for putting Kagari in a skirt.****  
**

**Will be replying to everyone's reviews asap! Thanks so much for reading so far!**

**Sorry if the grammar in this chapter is more sloppy than usual. I'm off to somewhere with no internet for a few days so I wanted to get this out before I go.**

**_Pie._**


	5. Rumours, Nicknames and Crying

It was time Ginoza did something about The Trio. For the past few days they had been getting together in the office early discussing _something_ which would lead them to acting out of their minds for the rest of their work shift. He was going to put a stop to all of it. (And confront Inspector Tsunemori about the um, incident with Masaoka.)

He confidently strode into the elevator, only to be almost thrown off his feet as Kagari flew out of the sliding doors.

"Kaga-!"

"'Sup Gino-san! Talk to you later!" Kagari shouted over his shoulder as he disappeared down the corridor singing out 'Karanomori-saaaan' at the top of his voice.

Ginoza's eyebrows knitted together. It would seem he was too late, The Trio had already made their move. He wondered if he was going to have to resort to recording devices to find out what the hell they were doing.

* * *

_Address your colleagues through pet-names. 3 points.  
__1 extra point if you get called one too._

As usual, Yayoi responded to her dares with a vacant expression. She shoved the black box into Kagari's hands, ignoring his sniggering.

"Aw man, you're going to have to come up with a whole list for this division," he chuckled. "Oh wait! Me and Akane-chan will invent the names for you! Since you'll probably use some really boring nicknames."

"Are you implying I'm unimaginative, Shuu-chan?" she asked with a straight face.

Kagari blinked dumbly, not quite expecting her to drop in the petname so easily. In defeat, he shrugged his shoulders and quickly pulled his attention to his own dare to change the subject.

_Answer 'yes' to every yes/no question you are asked. 5 points._

"Is that all? All the questions I'm ever asked are _boring_!" Kagari exasperated. "It'll be just me saying 'yes' to whenever Gino-san asks 'have you finished your report yet, Kagari? or 'haven't you already had your break, Kagari?' or 'did you break that, Kagari?''"

Akane gave him the most sympathetic smile she could manage as the box was then passed to her.

"At least you'll earn a lot of points this time round," she added lightly.

_Abruptly cry in front of a colleague, claiming s/he is "being mean." 3 points._

The young Inspector raised her eyebrows after reading her dare. "It would seem we are all going to be causing trouble for others today," she remarked. "Hm, and I need to work on some fake-crying."

"Karanomori has eye-drops, you can borrow some off her," Yayoi said helpfully. "But you might want to hurry, she said she's going to be holed up all day in the lab handling the evidence we got yesterday."

Caught in the excitement, Kagari jumped out of his seat and raced for the door. "I'll go get 'em, so sit tight, Akane-chan!" he assured with a wink.

Akane waved fondly as the door hissed shut behind him. Though on the inside, she was quite worried about who should be her dare 'victim.' She didn't want Masaoka-san worrying over her wellbeing either, or create more awkward moments with Kougami.

Saying that, Ginoza-san had been looked quite stressed lately as well...

* * *

A sneeze echoed through the corridor. Ginoza rubbed his nose with a frown, wondering if all the stress was lowering his defense system to a common cold. He pushed the thought away and marched along the passageway to the Unit 6 office for a particular case file.

Just as he was about to turn a corner though, the hissed gossip of a few female Inspectors caught his ear.

"-ector Tsunemori and Enforcer Kagari? No way!"

He froze mid-step and quickly darted back from the corner so he wouldn't be seen by the female Inspectors. He knew The Trio were up to something. Even the other Units had noticed their odd behaviour!

"It's really romantic, don't you think?" one of them giggled in delight. "The forbidden love between an Inspector and an Enforcer, it's so adorable but really despairing if you consider their poor chances of staying together long-term!"

Okay. That wasn't the kind of behaviour Ginoza was expecting to find out about The Trio. He just wondered where Kunidzuka came in all of this.

"I still don't believe it though," an older woman entered the conversation. "Kagari-kun seems so young and free. Also, Inspector Tsunemori doesn't seem the type to mix work with personal relationships. She's such a serious little girl."

Ginoza agreed.

"But I heard it from Karanomori-san! She saw it with her very own eyes! They were scrambling out of a toilet cubicle still pulling on their clothes! They-"

THEY WHAT.

Whatever mission Ginoza had at Unit 6 was long forgotten and replaced with a more dire issue. He practically ran back to his office where The Trio were alone, innocently completing their paperwork- but Ginoza Nobuchika would be fooled no longer.

Just as he was about to enter an enraged lecture about how unprofessional a romantic relationship between an Inspector and Enforcer would be, he saw his reflection in the glass door and saw 'ARE YOU DISSTRESSED' written all over it. No, this was not right. He was going to have to remain calm and maturely confirm whether such a relationship was taking place between Tsunemori and Kagari. And where the hell Kunidzuka came in all of it.

He made his entrance, receiving polite greetings from all three bystanders.

"Yes, good morning," he said stiffly. "And Kagari, a word."

Kagari blinked dumbly. He looked from his computer screen which evidently showed he was in the middle of _work_ but Ginoza still wanted to interrupt him? Still, Ginoza stood impatiently in the corner of the room with his hands folded across his chest, showing that he was completely serious.

Cautiously, Kagari pushed off his chair and towards his boss. He tried to keep a casual tone though. "So, what can I do for you today, Inspector?" Kagari asked with a toothy grin.

Ginoza didn't return it.

"I'm going to be very blunt with you, Kagari," Ginoza began softly. "I'm going to ask what's the relationship between you and Inspector Tsunemori."

Kagari stared intently at his superior.

"Gino-san. Are you jealous?"

"What? No! Just tell me if you're in a romantic relationship with Inspector Tsunemori or not!"

More intent staring.

"That was a yes or no question, right?"

Ginoza didn't answer. He just wanted to just kick himself in the teeth for his outburst. He then felt like kicking himself in the _head_ when Kagari answered '_yes.'_

"...are you serious?" Ginoza asked slowly. He examined at the Enforcer's face for any signs of lies, but it was quite difficult to read the sunny young detective's smile. "The rumours are true?"

Kagari sighed. "Karanomori-san just couldn't keep it in, couldn't she?"

"So _that_ is true too? You and Tsunemori... in a cubicle?!"

"Yes or no question again, right? So, yeah, _that_'s all true. Is there a problem?"

"Is there a problem? You're asking me if there is a _problem_?" Ginoza's voice was straining to keep to indoor volume. "Kagari, she only _just_ got out of training school-"

"Which means she's technically legal."

"-she is your boss-"

"A cute one too."

"-and you're a latent criminal-"

"Last time I heard there was no law saying latent criminals couldn't have a bit of fun. It's just that people tend not to hang out with us because we're um... latent criminals."

"-not to mention, you had the indecency to do this in a public toilet?!"

"Don't worry, the cleaning lady didn't catch us out."

"That isn't the problem here!"

Ginoza was no longer being quiet anymore. Yayoi and Akane looked up from their computer screens to the pale-faced Inspector Ginoza and the collected Enforcer Kagari.

"Kagari, is this all a big joke to you?" Ginoza hissed so his female colleagues couldn't hear.

"Uh, yes it is."

"It _is_? So you were _lying_ that you and Inspector Tsunemori were in an illicit relationship?"

"Romantic is now illicit, Inspector? But yeah."

"But Karanomori said she saw you two- doing-_that_."

"Yeah, she did."

"_Just which is it?!"_

About then, Kunidzuka shot up from her seat so abruptly that everyone in the room flinched, bringing Ginoza's interrogation to a close. Yayoi brandished a manilla folder in one hand and waved at at his general direction.

Noticing the lack of response he had for it, Kunidzuka pointed at the title of the folder. "I just finished up the case report for the Beast Case. All that's needed now is some references from Unit 6, but I believe you said you were going to handle that part, Inspector."

Ginoza nodded sluggishly.

"That's right," he affirmed. "I'll take the folder then. Did you have it proof-read though?"

Kunidzuka approached him and placed the folder in his hand.

"Yes, by Tomo-chan."

And the folder slipped out of his fingers.

"Who?"

Kunidzuka's face didn't even twitch. "I said: the other person who proof-read my report was Tomo-chan."

"Who is Tomo? Wait, Tomo... Tomomi... _Masaoka_?"

"Yes, I am talking about _that_ Tomo-chan. Is there a problem?" she asked sharply. "Am I doing anything wrong in terms of the regulations as an Enforcer?"

The headache was coming back again.

"Take as long as you need to approve of the report, Nobubu."

This was not happening.

He _really _missed his plants.

* * *

Kougami was being updated on some of the latest evidence which had came in the Analyst Department with Karanomori when he received a call from Yayoi.

"Kunidzuka," he greeted her curtly. "The Beast case file is all written up now?"

"If you want to read it, you better come quick before Nobubu takes it to Unit 6."

"Sure, I'll be there in a sec- wait, did you just call him Nobu-?"

"Hurry, Shin-chan."

"...what?"

* * *

Upon returning to the office, Kougami was instantly aware of a defeated Ginoza, polishing his glasses frantically from behind his desk. He didn't have a chance to figure out why since the other Inspector had instantly blockaded him.

"Kougami-san! You went ahead to the labs to look at the evidence yourself, didn't you?" Akane accused. "Please don't treat this as if it's _your _personal case, the rest of us need to be kept in the loop too."

This scolding wasn't a rare occurrence. Whenever Kougami had a free shift, he'd usually spend it snooping around NONA tower getting fresh information on their cases before it actually reached Unit 1 in a group meeting.

He listened to the female Inspector's idea of 'teamwork' before casually brushing it off.

"As long as the job gets done, there isn't anything worth complaining about, right Inspector?" he reasoned. "Don't worry, I won't keep everything to myself. All this just gives me something to do when I'm free."

Usually their chats would end about then, Akane would move back to her desk and Kougami would get on with whatever he was doing. However, their routine argument suddenly took a new turn.

_Sniff._

Kougami's eyes widened a little. It was as if... no, that was impossible, Inspector Tsunemori wasn't the type to... oh _shi_- he made her _cry_.

She stood there, rubbing her wet eyes as if trying to force the tears back, but her glistening cheeks, her trembling shoulders and her soft sniffing made it all too obvious. Kougami stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. Whenever he spoke with girls it was always work-related (with the exception of Karanomori), so the whole 'social' aspect was alien to him.

Including, how to comfort a crying girl.

He quickly looked to his colleagues for assistance. Instead, he received a cold 'you-better-say-sorry-you-bastard-or-I-_will_-do-something-with-criminal-intent-Shin-chan' glare from Kunidzuka, a mocking tut from Kagari and a despairing look from Ginoza. Screw them all.

Hesitantly, he reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Inspector Tsunemori?"

"Kougami-san is so mean!" she wailed.

She ducked past Kougami and sped out of the office, leaving Kougami standing rather dumbfounded on his own.

"Shin-chan is so mean," Yayoi commented.

"He sure is!" Kagari agreed.

"Kougami..." Ginoza began wearily.

"Yeah, I know," Kougami sighed as he trailed after Akane. Seriously, he wondered what was with everyone nowadays.

* * *

As Akane pocketed the borrowed eye-drops, she hoped she didn't overdo it in front of Kougami. She didn't feel like it was fair directing her dare at Ginoza after he faced the joint attack of Kagari's and Yayoi's dares, and crying in front of Masaoka would result into a lot of unneeded fussing on his half.

Leaning over the railings of the spacious balcony, she wondered if Kougami's recent avoidant behaviour was still due to the coffee incident.

"Inspector," a familiar voice called out behind her.

Akane almost slipped over the edge, realizing Kougami had followed her outside.

"Kou-Kougami-san?"

He was standing right at the doorway with his usual stoic expression. "May I join you?"

"Um, of course."

The two of them stood side-by-side for a few minutes, the wind being the only thing at least trying to fill in the awkward silence. Akane felt quite embarrassed after making such a scene back at the office and had no idea what sort of opinion Kougami had on her now as his superior.

She was about to simply excuse herself and return indoors but he suddenly turned to face her properly, wordlessly demanding her attention.

"Sorry," he said simply. "You're right, we're a team but I'm always off doing something on my own. I'll be filling you in more of what I'm snooping about, from now on."

"Apology accepted," Akane gabbled quickly. "And I'm sorry too, I was childish back there."

"It's actually quite relieving to see that. It's not good keeping everything inside all the time."

Their conversation dried up again and Akane considered leaving. She didn't think there would be much else to be said after an exchange of apologies. Not to mention, Kougami was observing the scenery again so she could assume that he was drifting off.

However, he abruptly began saying, "There was this one time when I was an Inspector, I went out for a drink with Gino."

Akane furrowed her eyebrows at him, not really understanding what he was trying to tell her.

"Uh, Kougami-san?"

"This was the first time I saw him take alcohol," he went on, ignoring his boss' confusion. "So I didn't know that he gets drunk just after one glass. He kept on crying about how lousy his life was and the only real hobby he has other than work was watering his plants and cleaning his glasses. He then started complaining that he was never going to get married at this rate and was going to be alone forever."

There was a pause.

"Then he asked me to marry him."

Akane's eyebrows then shot up, disappearing under her fringe. Her jaw unhinged itself without her realizing as she tried to process what he just told her.

It sunk in.

She didn't hear it wrong. She then tried to figure out what was the purpose of the story, but came up with nothing.

Eventually, Kougami finally met Akane's gaze, still stoic as before.

"You can laugh if you want," he prompted.

"Erm..."

"I don't mind, really."

Than it came to her.

"Kougami-san, are you possibly... trying to make me feel better?"

Another pause.

"Is it working?"

"Well actually I wasn't cr- I mean, yes, I'm feeling a lot better now, thank-you."

"Good." Kougami retraced his footsteps briskly. "I'll go back first."

At the very least, Akane confirmed that Kougami wasn't mad at her anymore for stealing his coffee or for calling him 'mean.' She however, wasn't quite sure whether Kougami was telling the truth or not though in his story.

(Looks like she was going to have to have a drink with Ginoza-san some other time to find out.)

* * *

Kunidzuka Yayoi- 13 points

Shuusei Kagari- 12 points

Tsunemori Akane- 19 points

* * *

**Did you guys miss me? Sorry about the long hold, I've been a bit busy. But wow, this came out longer than I planned.**

**So, how do I heal myself from the latest Urobutchery? Pick on Gino of course. And Kougami, because dude, just whyy.**

**I haven't replied to all your comments from the previous chapter, but I'm getting there. Please bare with me :D And t****hanks pinkxicexcream for the yes/no dare, and Akuma Shoujo23 for the idea for the nickname dare!**

**_Pie._**


	6. Innuendos, Plots and Silence

Kagari had been screaming with laughter for the past five minutes. Well, not entirely, if he did, then he probably would be dying on the floor from oxygen deficiency. But in between his screams of laughter, he would gasp and point at Yayoi, try to say something, and resume laughing again.

His two female colleagues patiently waited for him to calm down.

Red-faced and teary-eyed, Kagari picked up the Dare Box again to confirm Yayoi's dare.

_End every conversation with a sexual innuendo. 5 points._

"But really, Kunicchi. Can you really manage _every_ conversation?" he chuckled.

Yayoi gave him a nonchalant look and reached over to whisper into his ear. "Don't challenge me, Kagari," she warned softly. "I can be quite _creative_ when making _sex-in-your-endo_."

Of course, Akane obliviously sat there wondering why Kagari jumped back two tables. The Dare Box was passed around again and Akane read out her dare.

_Let another player choose who you give the silent treatment to. 1 point._

"Ehhh?"

"Gino-san! We have to choose Gino-san!" Kagari declared, still two tables away.

"Then at least give him back his plants. If he doesn't water them soon, they'll shrivel up and die, you know." Yayoi chided. "And I'd rather choose Kougami, it would be quite an interesting development from yesterday."

Akane shook her head in horror. "What if we have fieldwork today though? Am I just not going to say anything if Kougami-san or Ginoza-san requests backup?"

"You can figure something out, you're a smart girl, Akane-chan!" Kagari encouraged whilst he poked through the bookshelf to find the plants. "But Kunicchin! Kou-chan'll be really boring about it! He's already used to Gino-san throwing a hissy fit. What difference would it make with Akane-chan?"

Yayoi folded her arms across her chest.

"If we really do have fieldwork today, we at least need the Inspectors to be able to interact with eachother," she said firmly.

This only earned exasperation from Kagari. "Okay, fine! Kou-chan it is."

"Don't sound so disappointed, Kougami has a sense of humour too," Yayoi assured. She took the dare box out of Akane's hands and tossed it to Kagari.

_Ask a colleague for the time and then shout out 'it worked!' And start celebrating. 1 point._

"Well then," Kagari said with a toothy grin. "I think both of you ladies can guess who my prey is today."

* * *

Not long after lunch, Unit 1 were assigned to catching an arsonist caught in the act by a drone. Psycho-Pass skyrocketed, the newly latent criminal had escaped near a deserted port facility.

They arrived relatively near the area and had already began to unload the Dominators. Akane however, noticed there were a few boxes brought next to the weapon cart.

"Eh, what are these for?"

"Swimming gear," Masaoka replied. "Though we managed to catch the criminal red-handed at the crime-scene, it's still pre-meditated and the fact she came here might be due to her having prepared a means of escape."

"On water...?" Akane gulped.

She received a nod.

"In case of emergency, Nobuchika ordered some gear. We've got life-jackets, scuba equipment and rebreather sets," he listed off.

Kagari then decided to appear and rummage through one of the boxes. "And that's our there's-no-kill-like-overkill Inspector Gino we all know and love," he praised. "He really brought _everything_ to do with water."

A little nervous about the idea, Akane peered over Kagari's shoulder to see what was inside. "Um, if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to take a life-jacket with me, just in case."

"What? Akane-chan scared of having a splash?" Kagari teased, but when he saw her pale face he jerked a thumb towards the police van. "Only diving gear are in these boxes. There should be a couple more inside."

Akane hurried over to take them but felt the weight almost throw her arms onto the floor. She checked inside and triumphantly pulled out a compressed life-jacket.

"Need a hand, Inspector?"

Akane looked up to see Kougami. She was about to speak up but sharply turned her head away instead and bit down on her lip.

"The instruction manual isn't very well-explained in my opinion, but I've worn one before so I could quickly give you a crash course in case if you have to use it," he offered.

No answer was given on Akane's half.

Kougami blinked in confusion.

"Tsunemori?"

She continued to ignore him and studied the manual.

Having observed the entire scene, Kagari snickered in the background but was cut off when Yayoi bopped him on the head with her Dominator.

Ginoza frowned her at her.

"Kunizuka, the Dominator is a weapon, not a toy," he lectured. "Use it carefully!"

"Don't worry, Inspector. I promise I'll be gentle with _you_ at least," Yayoi deadpanned.

Ginoza froze.

"Wh-What...?"

She brushed past him and readied herself to enter the facility. She then bopped Kagari on the head again when he started cackling.

* * *

They had split into two groups with Ginoza teaming up with Kagari and Yayoi. There were no modes of transport waiting along the jetty so they opted to creep inside an old boat rental building.

Instead of finding the criminal, they found her hideout instead. Whilst Ginoza inspected the home-made alcohol distillery and rows of molotov cocktails, Kagari shadowed him with a carefully placed smile arranged on his face.

"Say, Gino-san, what time is it?" Kagari abruptly asked.

Ginoza frowned at the question. "01:32pm. Why?"

"Yosha!" Kagari fistpumped the air and a large grin broke out. "It _worked_!"

"What worked?" Ginoza immediately asked.

Yayoi finally looked up from the latent criminal's laptop she was hacking. "I found something."

"What worked, Kagari?"

Kagari was quick to join Yayoi to get a look at a series of videos. Each of them were a blurry, unprofessionally recorded clips of someone experimentally burning insects trapped in jars to small animals.

"She must _really_ like burning stuff down if she's made ten videos of this crap," Kagari commented.

"What _worked_, Kagari?!"

"She likes it hot and slow," Yayoi said flatly.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but shut up, Kunizuka."

* * *

Meanwhilst, Akane was leading Enforcer Kougami and Masaoka to a field of abandoned cargo-handling equipment. She was a little ahead of them, climbing up a man-controlled crane to see if the criminal was hiding inside.

Masaoka took it as an opportunity to speak with Kougami privately.

"Hey Kou, what happened between you and ojou-chan?" he asked with an easygoing smile. "I noticed that she was giving you the cold shoulder earlier."

Kougami studied a battered forklift truck.

"I don't really know," he replied with a casual shrug. "But to be honest, she's been a little spontaneous nowadays."

He thought he spotted something behind the gas pedal and stretched an arm inside.

"No kidding," Masaoka agreed. "It was just a few days ago when she asked me out on a date."

Kougami slipped and hit his head on the wheel.

"She _what_?"

"I think this area is clean, shall we look somewhere else?"

"Oi, tottsan. Did you-"

"Kou! Over there!"

Kougami dropped the subject the instant he saw the target move from the corner of his eye. Akane had to be called down from the crane and the three of them gave chase.

"This is Hound 3, target's moving towards the jetty," Kougami messaged to Shepherd 1.

Kagari and Ginoza had left the building during the time, leaving Yayoi to serve as an ambush in case the criminal returned.

"Bingo! There's nowhere to hide there!" Kagari chirped.

However, when they took a shortcut towards her supposed location, they found the entire area silent and empty.

"Target not here. Where is she?" Ginoza barked. "Anyone, report!"

"This is Hound 2," Kunizuka called in. "I can spot her heading to a cargo-loading area. Pursue?"

"Pursue," Ginoza confirmed. "But give directions first."

"The area itself is quite large to cover, I'd advise splitting up," she added. "Turn East from the boat rental, if you keep straight you'll be able to do a back-attack-"

"Oh _do_ shut up, Kunizuka," he groaned and began to jog.

* * *

Akane led her accompanied Enforcers towards the same location but from the opposite side Ginoza was entering, hoping to box the target in. However, the cargo-loading area itself was a massive maze of rusty crates, creating narrow winding paths around them.

"We should split up," Kougami suggested. "This'll take forever if we go in a group."

Masaoka nodded his head and Akane gave no reaction.

Wow, she felt like an asshole.

They parted and took different directions, creeping round corners with Dominators out and ready.

Akane jogged down a long stretch of road before hearing a faint scraping noise. She darted into the next path with her weapon held out in front of her, only to find the same weapon hovering in front of her face.

Kougami lowered his gun, hearing Sibyl's voice warning him that his actions would be logged.

"Kougami-san, behind you!" Akane blurted, lifting her weapon above his head.

Kougami jerked his head round just in time to see the latent criminal standing on top of one of the crates, poised to throw a Molotov cocktail. His arm became a blur as he aimed the Dominator at her, taking in a reading.

_Crime Coefficient 180 - an Enforcement for target - please aim carefully_

A teal light blossomed from the tip of the gun and spat itself out at the wide-eyed target. She dropped the bottle and hastily rolled down from the other side of the crate.

Ginoza was surprised to see the target suddenly drop in front of him, but he snapped back to work and pointed the Dominator at her head. Before the scan was made though, she launched her leg up and kicked his arm, stunning it temporarily. Before Ginoza could react properly, she grabbed the front of his jacket and threw him against the crate wall.

"Agh!" Ginoza gave a sharp hiss in pain when his head slammed against the harsh metal. Lifelessly, he slid onto the floor with a stinging sensation prickling his forehead.

A shadow loomed over the target just as she was about to run away.

Kougami had taken a running jump at the crate and managed to clamber over the top in one swoop. He crashed into her and fixed her arms behind her back with the Dominator pressed against her neck.

Meanwhilst, Akane had to run the long way round because not everyone in the police force is a ninja.

The moment she saw the arsonist tackled to the floor she shouted out "Don't shoot! Restrain target only!"

The remaining Enforcers came running in from the opposite direction. Kagari's eyebrows furrowed and he waved his Dominator about in mock-anger.

"Akane-chan! Fail!" he announced. "One point deducted!"

_Fail? Point deducted?_ Ginoza pondered on the words for a second, but with the next wave of the fire roaring inside his skull, he let it slide and let Yayoi examine him for any injuries.

She noticed there was a graze behind his hair and took a medical pack from a drone. She began to dab the blood away with an alcohol-soaked cotton swab as gently as she could, but it did nothing to stop him letting out a grunt of discontent at the sharp, new pain.

"Strange," she commented, dabbing diligently. "I always imagined Inspector to be more of a screamer than a moaner-"

"Shut up, Kunizuka."

* * *

In conclusion, the latent criminal was caught with minimal collateral damage. The only injured person was Inspector Ginoza but that was nothing new.

They began loading all the boxes of unneeded swimming gear back into the police van whilst Ginoza grumbled at his apparent 'bad karma.'

With his foul temper mixed with Akane's current awkwardness with Kougami, the entire scenario was a little uncomfortable. Asides from Kagari, no one was really talking, they filled the stale silence with the shuffling noises of boxes.

"Well, good work everyone!" Akane cheered, trying to lighten the mood.

"Business before pleasure," Yayoi prompted.

"I SAID SHUT _UP_, KUNIZUKA!"

* * *

Kunidzuka Yayoi- 18 points

Shuusei Kagari- 13 points

Tsunemori Akane- 18 points (1 point deducted)

* * *

**Gino is distressed.**

**Thanks from the sev'nth of march for the sexual innuendo dare and Animelover01268 for the 'it worked!' dare, all of you reviewers are such wonderful geniuses.**

**_Pie._**


	7. Paperwork, Blood and Hairclips

The moment Akane stepped into the office, she knew it would trigger Kagari to start reprimanding her.

"You broke your dare rule, Akane-chan!" he accused.

"Yes, I did. It was an emergency," she sighed. "Kougami-san could've been in danger."

Kagari let out a dramatic sigh. "Okay, fine, but you're still getting a penalty for that. From now on, if you break your dare, the number of points you should've got for completing it will be taken away from your final score. So minus one point to Akane-chan!"

Not feeling very affected by the game, Akane simply nodded. "I believe that's fair."

The Dare Box was then picked up by Kagari who eagerly stabbed a thumb over the surface.

_Joint dare: Switch personalities with another player.  
__3 points._

Akane didn't even need to look at Kagari to know who he was thinking of.

"Akane-chan, switch personalities with me!" he sang, looping an arm round her shoulder. "Aw man, I really want to see everyone's face when you say 'Kou-chan' or start playing darts instead of doing work!"

The Inspector let out a nervous laugh.

"Okay, Kunicchi. Let's see what you're gonna do today!"

Kunizuka was passed the cube and she brushed her finger on its face.

_Pretend that you have died.  
__1 point._

"Does this mean we get to see Kunicchi pretend to be a ghost today?" Kagari cackled.

"No, it'll mean that I'm going to pretend that I've been killed," she replied curtly.

* * *

Ginoza didn't know how to react.

Well, actually he _did_. He just didn't know in what order he should be reacting in.

Inspector Tsunemori had her feet propped up on Kougami's empty chair whilst stabbing buttons on the game console in her hands. Ginoza was able to see her eyes were transfixed by the flashing lights, since a part of her fringe was held back by some familiar looking hairclips.

Meanwhilst, Kagari was innocently slouched over his keyboard, typing up a draft of the arsonist case. His hair was severely lacking hairclips.

Kunizuka's desk was empty.

Ginoza didn't know what order he should be reacting in.

Noticing his arrival, Akane greeted him with a somewhat strained smile. "Wh-What's up, Gi... Ginossa..." she trailed off hesitantly, before letting out a heavy sigh. "Gi-Gino-san?"

Ginoza stared at her.

"...excuse me?" was all he could manage.

"Oh Ginoza-san, good morning!" Kagari lifted his head out of the file he was browsing through.

Suddenly, Ginoza felt an immense amount of pressure squashing his head. He had no idea how he was meant to respond. Should he directly ask what in the name of all things sane they were doing? Should he call for an emergency Psycho Pass checkup for his Unit? Or specifically The Trio?

The safest option, he decided, was to say nothing at all. Ginoza curtly nodded at the two and stalked behind his desk to start his own work. Whilst he opened his schedule to check for deadlines, he tried very hard to ignore his fellow Inspector set up a dartboard on a bookshelf.

And where the hell was Kunizuka?

* * *

Though it was tempting, Yayoi decided against on searching online how to make fake blood. She didn't want the CID log that against her. She slid Kagari's keycard through the security lock and marched into his room.

If anyone had ingredients for fake blood, Kagari's kitchen had it. He preferred cooking over the ready-made hyperoats dishes- even though most of the separate ingredients still had hyperoats in it anyway.

'The act of cooking is an art form!' he once told her.

She searched through his cupboard and fridge for anything which could be useful. In the end, she settled for some syrup, food colouring and a bag of flour. Yayoi liked art, but that didn't mean she was great at it. Still, making blood seemed like a fun project.

She mixed all the ingredients together with a jug of water, adding more of different things in whenever she felt like it. The result was a bowl of thick, sticky dark red soup.

It should pass for blood.

Now, for the main part. How was she going to use the blood to make her death look realistic? It wasn't as if she had any make-up or props to make anything look more realistic. Then there was no choice, she was just going to have to pretend to be bleeding out.

She exited Kagari's room with the bowl weighing down on her arms- she wondered if she made too much.

Well, all she had to do now was set up the crime scene in front of either Kougami, Masaoka-san or Inspector Ginoza. She didn't really care who, but the bowl was getting damn heavy.

* * *

Kougami wondered what did he do lately to make Inspector Tsunemori so pissed off at him. First it was the breakdown in the office, then it was the cold shoulder, but in between then, she'd act completely normal. Goddamn, maybe he had been a latent criminal for so long he no longer had the mental capacity to understand psychologically healthy people.

When he stepped into the office, he noticed there was something a _little _different with the female Inspector at her workstation. He decided not to comment on it and log on to his computer.

However, she snapped her eyes up to meet his and pulled a large, toothy grin on her face. Thought it was somewhat strained.

"Morning, K-K-Kou-chan," she tried to say as cheerfully as possible.

Kougami took this all in with an impassive face and nodded back. "Morning, Inspector."

Inside, he was mentally battling the logic behind her suddenly calling him _kou-chan_. Ninety seconds later and no results. He gave up. He gave up on trying to figure out what went on Inspector Tsunemori's head ever again. She had the cognitive complexity rivaling Makishima Shogo.

"Jelly bean?" she offered, holding out a jar in his direction. "You look as if you could do with some sugar."

"I'm fine."

"I have pocky too."

"I'm fine, Inspector."

Kougami rarely found social interaction awkward- but you learn something new everyday.

Meanwhilst at the other side of the office, Kagari was getting quickly bored of his dare. He knew well enough that Tsunemori would maintain focus on her work until break times which unfortunately was another hour anyway. He decided that visiting Kunizuka was a good excuse to leave the office. She needed a dare player after all to confirm that she was fulfilling her mission too.

He was about to push out of his seat but remembered that he was still meant to be playing his 'Akane' role so he got up as 'gracefully' as he could and turned to Ginoza's direction.

"Ginoza-san! I'm gonna go check out Karanomori-san," he announced. "Just in case if you need me for anything."

Ginoza began nodding his head at first, but then hesitated. "Kagari... what are you plotting?"

He was responded with a tilt of a head. That's right. Kagari did the moe head tilt. "Ehhh. What do you mean, Ginoza-san?" he inquired innocently. "I'm only going to borrow the new forensic report which came in from Karanomori-san."

"Exactly _that_! Just why are you talking to me like that? Did you do something? Are you trying to do your work so I can forgive you for something?" Ginoza blabbered, agitation clear on his brow. "Just what is going on in your head?!"

"Ginoza-san..."

"And _stop_ calling me that!"

"Ehh. Then... what am I supposed to call you?"

"That stupid nickname you've always used on me. 'Gino-san!' Just put your hairclips back on and give me a peace of mind! And Tsunemori!" He then turned his attention to his fellow Inspector who was playing with some dinosaur models on her desk. "_Would it kill you to do some work?!"_

Kagari gave Ginoza a scandalised look. "Y-You want me to refer you to a nickname? 'Gino-san' even? Ehhh. Ginoza-san, aren't you being a bit _too_ forward?"

"Keep this up, Kagari and I will cut your pay cheque in half."

"Okay Gino-san, I'll be off now!"

* * *

The hallway was fortunately quite empty at this time of day, which meant less people coming by and less people asking questions. Most people tended to spend their mornings still in bed or in the cafeteria. Kunizuka dumped her bowl of (fake) blood and tried to plan how she was going to set up the crime scene.

"Kunicchi!"

Kunizuka glanced over her shoulder. "Kagari."

"So this is what you made?" Kagari peered inside the bowl of thick, dark red substance. "Hey, this (fake) blood is pretty good. Though... you don't think you got too much?"

"I couldn't think of any other way to fake my death other than bleeding out, so having a lot of (fake) blood might be useful."

Kagari bobbed his head in understanding, he studied the hallway they were in, and the door leading into the small library which was recently built for the Enforcers to use.

"Oh right, the old man likes to read here on Thursday mornings," Kagari reminded himself.

"He'll be coming out in five minutes, so I need to hurry," Kunizuka announced.

She dipped her fingers into the bowl and began to wipe smears of (fake) blood over her clothes. She ruffled her hair a little to show as if to show signs of struggle and loosened the tie a little too. The bowl was then carefully tipped so half of its contents would spill across the floor.

"Now what? You're going to lie in that?" Kagari asked.

"I'll send my clothes to dry cleaning tomorrow," she explained. "I've been meaning to do that for a while now so I don't mind getting it dirty."

She then sat behind the puddle and proceeded to slowly lie down on top of the sticky (fake) blood. Kagari chuckled in some sort of amused disgust at the squelching noise which escaped under her as she rested her weight on top of the liquid.

It was about then did they heard a pair of footsteps tap across the hall and sharply turn in their direction.

It was Inspector Ginoza.

No doubt it was not a great time to see your boss. Ginoza stared at the scene with undisguised confusion. It was not like he hadn't seen blood before, he was a detective for god's sake, he's seen people blow up into tiny bits of muscle and blood with their fat still mingling in the air. But of course he'd be bloody confused to see a co-worker lie in a pool of... the hell, he had no idea what it was.

A few seconds ticked by, it would seem the Enforcers were waiting for Ginoza to say something.

"Kunizuka..." he began to say. He didn't even look at Kagari. Frankly, he had enough of Kagari and didn't really want to know why Kagari was standing next to a half-empty bowl of suspicious red liquid.

Meanwhilst, Kunizuka had the politeness to sit up so she was at least looking at her Inspector properly. She absently began smoothing down her hair but realized that she was only making it worse by spreading the (fake) blood on it.

"Kunizuka, what are you doing?"

"I was about to fake my death," Kunizuka replied. "It would seem you have interrupted me, Inspector."

"Kunizuka, why are you doing this?"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea trying to get into the head of a latent criminal, sir," Kunizuka warned him impassively.

Ginoza stared at her, wearing an unreadable expression. He wasn't yelling at her- yet. He stood their, frozen in place whilst his Enforcers watched him carefully as if he might explode any second.

It was about then, Masaoka left the library only to find half of Unit 1 in various points across the hall. His eyes went from Kunizuka, to Kagari and finally to Ginoza. He went back to looking at Kunizuka again and the pool of (fake) blood behind her.

"Say, is that washable?" Masaoka asked.

"Is that the _first _thing you worry about?!" Ginoza asked incredulously.

"Well, it looked like a nice suit. You can't possibly be heartless enough to worry about the floor first, right Nobu?"

And that was when Nobu finally snapped. "All three of you are cleaning up this mess!"

"Wha-? I didn't even do anything!" Kagari spluttered.

* * *

Kunidzuka Yayoi- 19 points

Shuusei Kagari- 16 points

Tsunemori Akane- 21 points

* * *

**Omake**

Choe Gu Song was quite sure he was not so old that his ears were going bad.

"I'm sorry, Makishima-san?" he said skeptically.

"I bought this fascinating game but unfortunately it requires at least two players," Makishima repeated, revealing a small black cube in his hand. "It picks a quest you do at random, you gain points if you complete it."

"So... what is the benefit of gaining points?"

"That is up to the players to decide," Makishima replied, he began tossing the cube in the air and catching it again. "I think I've come up with a suitable target for the end of the game. If you reach thirty points first, let's overthrow Sibyl. If I reach thirty points first, let's visit Oyro Rikako and see if her soul has any splendour."

"...are we seriously deciding on whether or not to revolt by playing a dare game?"

* * *

**Shut up, Choe. Dare games are important.**

**I'm sorry for the lack of updates lately- and general lack of response. I'll get back to all you wonderful readers, promise. **

**Meanwhilst, Exile-Wrath and I are attempting to make regular updates at Abyssal Path. Please check it out on his account!**

**Thank-you Isis Lied for the switch-up dare and partypartyagain for the dead dare.**

**_Pie._**


End file.
